Managing Groups and Teams

Roadmap
Groups and teams Characteristics of teams Reasons for team failure Leading teams Improving team performance

Groups and Teams

Group
Two or more persons who are interacting in such a way that each person influences and is influenced by each other person.

Team
A group of people committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which the team members hold themselves mutually accountable.
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Comparing Work Teams and Work Groups

Prentice Hall, 2002

The Popularity of Teams

Teams typically outperform individuals when tasks require multiple skills, judgment, and experience Teams are a better way to utilize individual employee talents The flexibility and responsiveness of teams is essential in a changing environment Empowered teams increase job satisfaction and morale, enhance employee involvement, and promote workforce diversity
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Types of Work Teams

Virtual Team
Virtual Team
Groups of geographically and/or organizationally dispersed coworkers who interact using a combination of telecommunications and information technologies to accomplish an organizational task. Virtual teams may be temporary, existing only to accomplish a specific task. Or they may be permanent and address ongoing matters. Membership is often fluid, evolving according to changing task requirements.
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Group Dynamics
Group Norms
The informal rules that groups adopt to regulate and regularize group members behavior.

Group Cohesiveness
The degree of interpersonal attractiveness within a group, dependent on factors like proximity, similarities, attraction among the individual group members, group size, intergroup competition, and agreement about goals.
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What It Takes to Be a Team Player

Personality
Individualism versus collectivism

Interpersonal Skills
Conflict management skills Collaborative problem solving skills Communication skills

Management Skills
Develop and establish goals Control, monitor, provide feedback Set work roles and assign tasks
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Team Member Roles

Prentice Hall, 2002

LIS580- Spring 2006

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Challenges to Creating Team Players

Managers attempting to introduce teams into organization face the most difficulty:
When individual employee resistance to teams is strong Where the national culture is individualistic rather than collectivist When an established organization places

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Workforce Diversitys Effects on Teams

Fresh and multiple perspectives on issues help the team identify creative or unique solutions and avoid weak alternatives The difficulty of working together may make it harder to unify a diverse team and reach agreements Although diversitys advantages dissipate with time, the added-value of diverse teams increases as the team becomes more cohesive
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Checklist 13.1 How to Build a Productive Team

Have clear mission/purpose. Set specific performance goals. Compose the right team size and mix. Have an agreed-upon structure appropriate to the task. Delegate the authority to make the decisions needed, given their mission. Provide access to or control of the resources needed to complete their mission. Offer a mix of group and individual rewards. Foster longevity and stability of membership.
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Characteristics of Highperforming Work Teams

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Why Teams Fail: The Leadership, Focus, and Capability Pyramid

Source: Adapted from Steven Rayner, Team Traps: What They Are, How to Avoid Them. National Productivity Review. Summer 1996, p. 107. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

FIGURE 133 15

Checklist 13.2 Symptoms of Unproductive Teams

Nonaccomplishment of goals. Cautious, guarded communication. Lack of disagreement. Malfunctioning meetings. Conflict within the team.

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The Challenge of Team Leadership

Becoming an effective team leader requires:
Learning to share information Developing the ability to trust others Learning to give up authority Knowing when to leave their teams alone and when to intercede

New roles that team leaders take on

Managing the teams external boundary Facilitating the team process
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Leading Productive Teams

Team Leader Skills
Coaching, not bossing Help define, analyze, and solve problems Encourage participation by others Serve as a facilitator

Team Leader Values

Respecting fellow team members Trusting fellow team members Putting the team first

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Team Leader Roles

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Team Leader Behaviors

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Typical Leader Transition Problems

Perceived Loss of Power or Status Unclear Team Leader Roles Job Security Concerns The Double Standard Problem

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Stages of Team Development

LIS580- Spring 2006

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The Leaders Role in Creating a Self-Managing Team

Forming
The teams and their leaders begin working out their specific responsibilities. Training is the leaders main task.

Storming
Questions typically arise regarding who is leading the team and what its structure and purpose should be. The leader ensures that team members continue to learn and eventually exercise leadership skills.
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The Leaders Role in Creating a Self-Managing Team (contd)

Norming
Team members agree on purpose, structure, and leadership and are prepared to start performing. The leaders job is to emphasize the need for the team to temper cooperation with the responsibility to supervise its own members.

Performing
A period of productivity, achievement, and pride as the team members work together to get the job done.

Adjourning
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How to Improve Team Performance

Select members for skill and teamwork. Establish challenging performance standards. Emphasize the tasks importance. Assign whole tasks. Send the right signals. Encourage social support. Make sure there are unambiguous team rules. Challenge the group regularly with fresh facts and information. Train and cross-train. Provide the necessary tools and material support. Encourage emotionally intelligent team behavior.

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Providing an Organizational Context That Supports Teams

Organizational Structure

Organizational Systems
Organizational Policies Employee Skills

Team Work Approach

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Designing Organizations to Manage Teams

Source: Adapted from James H. Shonk, Team-Based Organizations (Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1997), p. 36.

FIGURE 135 27

Pros and Cons of Group Decision Making

Pros
More points of view More ways to define the problem More possible solutions/alternatives More creative decisions Stronger commitment to decisions

Cons
More disagreement and less problem solving Desire for consensus (groupthink) Domination by a single individual Less of commitment to the group decision

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Signs That Groupthink May Be a Problem

Source: Adapted from information provided in Irving James, Group Think: Psychological Studies of Policy Decisions and Fiascos , 2nd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982).

FIGURE 137 29

Improving Group Decision Making

Devils-Advocate Approach
The group appoints a person to prepare a detailed counterargument that lists what is wrong with the groups favored solution and why the group should not adopt it. The aim is to ensure a full and objective consideration of the solution proposal.
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Improving Group Decision Making (contd)

Brainstorming
A creativity-stimulating technique in which prior judgments and criticisms are specifically forbidden from being expressed and thus inhibiting the free flow of ideas, which are encouraged. Brainstorming rules:
Avoid criticizing others ideas until all suggestions are out on the table. Share even wild suggestions. Offer many suggestions and comments as possible. Build on others suggestions to create your own.
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Improving Group Decision Making (contd)

The Delphi Technique
A multistage group decision-making process aimed at eliminating inhibitions or groupthink through obtaining the written opinions of experts working independently. Process steps
Identify the problem. Solicit the experts individual opinions on the problem. Analyze, distill, and then resubmit these opinions to other experts. Continue this process for several more rounds until the experts reach a consensus.
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Improving Group Decision Making (contd)

The Nominal Group Technique
1. Each group member writes down his or her ideas for solving the problem at hand. 2. Each member then presents his or her ideas orally, and the person writes the ideas on a board for other participants to see. 3. After all ideas are presented, the entire group discusses all ideas simultaneously. 4. Group members individually and secretly vote on each proposed solution. 5. The solution with the most individual votes wins.
G.Dessler, 2003

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Improving Group Decision Making (contd)

The Stepladder Technique
1. Individuals A and B are given a problem to solve, and each produces an independent solution. 2. A and B develop a joint decision, and meet with C, who has analyzed the problem and arrived at a decision. 3. A, B, and C discuss the problem and arrive at a consensus decision, and are joined by D, who has analyzed the problem and arrived at a decision. 4. A, B, C, and D jointly develop a final group decision.
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Improving Group Decision Making (contd)

How to Lead a Group Decision-Making Discussion
1. See that all group members participate and contribute. 2. Distinguish between idea getting and idea evaluation. 3. Do not respond to each participant or dominate the discussion. 4. Direct the groups effort toward overcoming surmountable obstacles. 5. Dont sit down.
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